Ge Peng Candidate Statement

Ge Peng, Candidate for At Large Board Member

Candidate Statement 2023

I am Ge Peng; commonly known as Peng by most people. I am currently a Sr. Principal Research Scientist at the Earth System Science Center of the University of Alabama in Huntsville, supporting the NASA Interagency Implementation and Advanced Concepts Team (IMPACT) project managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) since December 2020. Prior to that, I was a Research Scholar at the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies of the North Carolina State University, supporting the NOAA Climate Data Record Program and OneStop project managed by the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

For over three decades, I have carried out my climate science research utilizing various types of scientific data. In early 2012, my research on scientific data stewardship began. As an established scientist engaged in data stewardship research and applications, I encountered a challenge in finding a community that resonated with me. However, everything changed in July 2014 when I discovered ESIP—a community that provided me with a true sense of belonging. The ESIP community welcomed me with open arms and has consistently supported both my research and the institutions I am affiliated with, as we embarked on a rewarding journey of curating and sharing data and associated quality information. As a result, I am deeply grateful to the ESIP community and now wish to give back by leveraging my extensive experiences and knowledge. This includes the invaluable insights gained from collaborating with esteemed national and international domain experts and organizations throughout the past decade.

Bio: Dr. Ge Peng has a Ph.D in meteorology and is a data scientist with extensive experience working with various types of Earth science data and model systems, as well as domain expertise worldwide. She has made significant contributions in the field of Earth and environmental sciences, particularly in the areas of data stewardship, Arctic sea ice, surface wind, and open science. Since 2015, Dr. Peng has been serving as a co-chair of ESIP Information Quality Cluster which focuses on improving the quality and usability of Earth science data and associated information. In this role, she is instrumental in coordinating an international effort of developing the guidelines for documenting dataset quality in the context of the FAIR principles, as the chair of the International FAIR Dataset Quality Information Community Guidelines Working Group.

Dr. Peng also serves as the Chair of the Expert Team on Information Management of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), where she leads efforts to develop guidance for managing climate data. She played a leadership role as the chief editor of the Earth System Science Data Journal in lowering access barriers to Earth science datasets. She is currently the Chair of the NASA Open, Free & FAIR Data Working Group, where she is advancing efforts to make NASA data more accessible and usable by the broader scientific community. In addition, Dr. Peng is serving as an External Advisory Board member for the Climate EU 2 project, where she provides guidance on data management and quality issues.